Police led to West Side chop shop

A a car’s anti-theft system led San Antonio police to an alleged chop shop at a West Side residence, KSAT-TV is reporting.

A Honda Civic stolen at Potranco Road and Ellison Drive about 7 p.m. Monday was equipped with a LoJack system, which allows police to track a vehicle if it’s reported stolen, the station says.

A police helicopter followed the signal to a neighborhood but couldn’t pinpoint an exact location, KSAT says. An officer in the area, however, had recently conducted a traffic stop and obtained information about a possible chop shop in the 4000 block of West Salinas Street.

Acting on that information, police went to the site, where they found the Civic sitting in the driveway — along with three other Hondas that were in the process of being disassembled for parts, the station says. A building on the property contained hundreds of car parts.

Police arrested the homeowner, who said he knew that the cars were stolen, KSAT says. The house had no electricity running to it, and investigators think the homeowner was selling the parts to support a drug addiction.